Softball: Kaneland crushes Vernon Hills to reach state
Kaneland punched its ticket to the Class 3A state tournament in emphatic fashion Monday, scoring 9 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Vernon Hills by the 10-run rule.
The Knights' 11-1 victory on their home field in the Class 3A Kaneland supersectional marked their 15th straight win, a young team that caught fire down the stretch after a so-so 11-9 start.
"It's all them," Kaneland coach Mike Kuefler said. "Any season you want to sit back as a coach and get them to the field and let them play the game. And they did that. Starting midseason these girls took the reins and ran with it. It was great to see."
Kaneland (26-9) will play Providence, who also won its supersectional by an 11-1 score, at 10 a.m. Friday in the Class 3A state semifinals in East Peoria.
It's the third state appearance for Kaneland, who finished third in 2015 when Kuefler was an assistant coach to Peter Goff.
"It is unreal," said senior Hannah Theobald, who started at first base on both state teams. "I can't describe how excited I am. This is the same exact feeling I had freshman year and it's bringing back memories."
Vernon Hills (18-19) gave Kaneland all it wanted for five and a half innings. Starting pitcher Madison Johnson held the Knights scoreless through the first three innings, trading goose eggs with Knights sophomore lefty Emilee Erickson.
Johnson stranded runners at second base in both the first and third innings.
"At first I was a little scared, not going to lie, this team is pretty good," Johnson said. "But once I got there and we battled, zero-zero for a couple innings, it was OK, I'm with this team. I wasn't as scared anymore. Hitting my spots and keeping my head in the game, not letting cheering get to me, not letting the crowd get to me. Just keeping my head in the game was what got me through."
Kaneland took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Hailey Roach led off with a sharp single to left, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Theobald's double to the right-center gap.
"I knew I had to hit it right side," Theobald said. "I knew hitting right side was moving the runners and doing my job. Just threw the bat out there and it went my way."
Maddy Wheatley plated the second run with a 2-out single to center.
Vernon Hills scored its only run in the sixth. Quin Yuter reached on a 2-base error and scored on a 2-out line single to right by Delaney Bowen.
"That's how we played, we have a lot of games when we come back from some deficits," Bowen said. "We tend to do that. It takes us getting down to get the motivation to string some hits and get some runs. We were confident but they are an awesome team."
The tight 2-1 game quickly got out of hand in the bottom of the sixth. Twelve batters came to the plate, and Vernon Hills only recorded one out.
Hailey Roach again started the rally with a single. Freshman Olivia Ortegel delivered a pinch-hit 2-run single, and another freshman, Rose Roach, blasted a grand slam - her seventh home run of the year and third in the last three postseason wins.
Hailey Roach followed with her second hit of the inning. She scored the supersectoinal-clinching run on Katie Kurzrock's walk-off RBI single.
"They just kept coming," Kuefler said. "They weren't going to let up."
Hailey Roach led Kaneland's 14-hit attack going 3-for-4. Sophomore Donatela Sommesi, Rose Roach, Theobald and Wheatley all had 2 hits.
Erickson allowed 3 hits, striking out 9 and walking 1. She improved to 19-4, lowered her ERA to 1.96, and will look for her 20th victory when Kaneland takes the field Friday at EastSide Centre in East Peoria.
"It's a huge accomplishment," Sommesi said. "It's one of the biggest things I could ever ask for playing on a team like this with the girls beside me. I knew from the get-go we had it in us. The chemistry, I can't even describe it. It's been a heck of a ride."
It also was a heck of a ride for a Vernon Hills team that won the school's first sectional title.
"I am so happy to be part of this team," said Johnson. "The chemistry, the bonding, it has been an honor to be on this team. I knew we could make it this far."